The 2018 Farm Bill and What it Means for the Selling and Marketing of Hemp products

The 2018 Farm Bill and what it means for the selling and marketing of Hemp products particularly hemp supplements and foods.

The legalization of hemp and hemp products has been a controversial subject in the past. However, with the recent passing of the bill by both the House and Senate and subsequent accentuation into law on December 20th 2018 by President Trump; the production of hemp and sale of hemp products is now legal. This implies that hemp is now classified as a regular agricultural cash crop. With the enactment of the bill, federal drug restrictions that have over the years hampered its production and sale will now be lifted promoting its expansion. Indeed, the move is perceived to boost the sales of hemp and its products due to creation of a new legal market, that will enable sellers reach the untapped markets.

Formerly classified as a federally controlled substance, CBD is now the new trendy superfood ingredient that most companies are interested in. With a wide range of uses from medicinal to therapeutic hemp derived CBD is seen as the future of medicine and therapeutics. For example, CBD can be used in drinks and beauty products. As such, companies seeking to use CBD as an ingredient in their products will now be free to do so. For instance, a company such as Coca-Cola has considered using CBD as a potential ingredient for its drinks as it promotes functional wellness. Additionally, unrestricted marketing and advertisement of the products will further boost sales due to removal of government red tape.

Therefore, the creation of a legal market for hemp and its products will further promote its industrial production and marketing thus booming sales. Besides, there will be entry of more farmers as a new cash crop and similarly new consumers with the legalization as they are now free to purchase the product without restriction. According to Brightfield research group, come next year there is an expected escalation of sales of hemp derived CBD to $5.7 billion. This translates to about 10-fold increase from what it is currently. In addition, the legalization is projected to create a market worth over $20 billion come the year 2022(Bloomberg News,2018).

It is evident that the lifting of government red tape is deemed to boost the production, marketing and sale of hemp derived products. We should therefore brace ourselves for new beginnings, whereby hemp derived products will now be available on the shelves of large known retailers such as Walmart and Target Inc.